A Thousand Years
by LittleGreenGirlxx
Summary: Sequel to "The Sort-of-Doctor". Rose and Tentoo adjust to their lives as a human couple, dealing with everything this new universe throws in their way... For better or for worse. Chapter fic with fluff, angst, adventure... You name it, it's here. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! Here's the beginning to the sequel to "The Sort of Doctor" that I mentioned. I'm in love with these characters and these words wouldn't leave me alone so I've been writing for four days straight and have the first six chapters and the ending, so... Yes. This is unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine. OH, and the way I've written the accent in this piece is exactly how it sounds, so I hope it doesn't get too confusing... Message me if you need it translated haha! Please read and review, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as it's predecessor! Thanks for reading x**

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><p>"I bought you a birthday present," Rose stated, marching from the direction of the library with a determined grin. The Doctor poked his head out from underneath the console – knocking his glasses askew in the process – and raised an eyebrow.<p>

"What?"

"I _said_ I got you a birthday present."

"I can't remember when my birthday is; I haven't celebrated one for about six hundred years! How can you possibly have bought me a present?"

Grinning, Rose sidled closer and plonked down onto the grating next to him, poking him playfully in the tummy as she leaned in.

"I made one up. It was April the eighteenth when you were created in the other world, so… yeah. That's today. I know time flows differently here but according to the calendar in the kitchen – _why_ do we even have that, by the way? – It's April eighteenth. So, happy birthday!"

Wrapping her small hands around his temptingly loosened tie, she yanked him roughly towards her and pressed a lingering, sumptuous kiss to his forever willing lips. Much to his distaste, the embrace was over much too quickly and he was suddenly bereft – Rose shuffled away and leaned back on her hands, tilting her head enquiringly.

"What age are you now?"

The Doctor pondered the question for a moment, several possible answers waltzing around in his mind. Pouting, he tapped the sonic thoughtfully against his bottom lip.

"_Technically_ speaking, I'm one. Or I'm about nine hundred and ten. Something like that." For someone so exorbitantly clever, he looked stupidly pleased with this somewhat vague answer. Rose rolled her eyes and nudged his leg with the toe of her shoe.

"Yeah well it's a bit weird to think of you as either. That makes you either a baby or an ancient old fossil… Neither of them are turn-ons!"

"Well then make up an age, just like you made up my birthday. I dunno… what age are you again? Twenty six?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So I can be twenty six too!"

A slight guffaw escaped Rose at that, and she clamped her hands over her mouth – his expression became wounded and his brows knit together in anxiety. She tried desperately to make light of her unkind response.

"Sorry, it's just… Well, you don't look a **day** over _thirty_ six, if that makes you feel any better?"

"What? Oh, come on! Be fair! Thirty two!"

"Thirty five."

"Thirty three?"

"Call it a generous thirty four – you can say you're my sugar daddy?"

The Doctor's mouth went slack as Rose waggled her eyebrows suggestively, noting with great satisfaction the way his resolve crumbled under her coaxing. He mouthed wordlessly for a moment, his face contorting into countless expressions before falling into the open mouthed smile she so adored.

"_Well_, go on then!" He was suddenly on his feet, wiping the dust from his trousers. "Where's this birthday present you were talking about?"

Rose had given hours of thought to the process of selecting this gift. She had vacillated endlessly among the various avenues she could go down, but knew that the only thing he wanted (materially speaking) might cause another of their infamously explosive quarrels. In the end she had yielded to the weight of her own wishes and gone ahead and bought the items in question whilst on a visit to her parents for little Tony's sixth birthday. She almost regretted it, fearing the consequences, but knew she had to give him the chance to surprise her – he was still good at that, when given the opportunity.

Taking him by the hand, Rose led the Doctor along the dimly lit corridors, her tummy squirming uncomfortably with nerves. The half Time Lord heard the fluttering of her heart and licked his lips, sure that whatever gift she had in mind for him was sure to be _incredibly _exciting.

When they reached their bedroom, the TARDIS opened the door for them and then closed it afterwards, altering the lighting slightly to make the room brighter. The Doctor looked at Rose questioningly as she turned to face him with a look of resignation on her face.

"Now, don't get mad," she cautioned, pointing a stern finger square at his face. She let him go and crossed the room to her wardrobe, drawing out a black garment bag and thrusting it unceremoniously in his direction: her eyes were downcast in an expression of apprehension.

The Doctor's eyes bulged delightedly as he gazed down upon the suit contained within the bag. Chocolate brown cotton, woven through with cornflower blue pinstripes – very fitted, straight legged trousers, four buttons on the jacket. This was certainly not what he had been expecting. He noticed Rose backing off slightly, edging backwards inch by inch towards the door.

"What's the matter?" he questioned, unzipping the bag fully and removing the suit without looking. Rose squinted at him curiously.

"You're not gonna go mental at me for – I dunno – not loving you as much as the other you, or something? I remember that was an issue last year. I just didn't want -"

"It's no longer a point of contention – we sorted it out, didn't we?"

He grinned at her and cocked his head in a signal for her to approach, holding his arms wide to embrace her. With a lazy kiss to her mouth, he murmured his thanks and declared his affections for her for the eight hundred and thirty second time (he was counting). Seemingly thrilled by his approval, Rose turned him round in her arms and shoved him forwards towards the suit that lay on the bed.

"Get that horrible blue one off, right now! Bloody thing needs washed."

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><p>She waited for him in the console room, leaning back comfortably on the jump seat with her legs crossed and eyes turned upwards; watching the time rotor moving was something she never tired of. Soon, the Doctor strode into the room and paused, standing with his feet wide apart, hands in his pockets – brown suit, brown coat, blue shirt… Even more perfect looking than usual. Rose grinned slyly and hopped to her feet, striding forwards to meet him and smoothing her hands up the suede lapels of his coat.<p>

"How do I look?" he joked, tilting his head downwards and raising one eyebrow in an expression so tempting it was always sure to knock her off balance.

"Brilliant," she replied simply, not bothering to suppress the ripple of pleasure that tingled up her spine. The young woman beamed up at him, her face glowing with joy and amusement. The Doctor opened and closed his mouth a few times, this apparently being one of the rare occasions that saw him lost for words. Eventually he settled for a small, tender smile with one raised eyebrow – an expression so candid Rose was certain she was the only person in all of time and space to ever have been lucky enough to witness it. His mood so often switched on a dime; this time playfulness to sincerity in less than a second.

"It's been so long since I've – I don't remember…" He stopped, his voice becoming choked at the back of his throat as he struggled to suppress the unbidden and highly unexpected surge of emotion that currently welled in his chest. "Thank you, Rose. This really means a lot to me," he murmured, bending his head and dropping a gentle yet searing kiss to her ever eager lips. She smiled softly as she pulled away, resting her hands on his cheeks and latching his gaze firmly onto hers.

"I didn't mean to upset you, you big old softie!" she chuckled, ghosting her thumbs over his cheekbones. The Doctor laughed along with her, shrugging off his melancholic mood as quickly as it had come.

"Quite right, sorry! Just got a _tad_ overwhelmed for thirty four seconds."

"Very precise, Doctor."

"Indeed, Rose. Now, where would I like to go for my birthday? Somewhere with the finest cuisine in the universe, preferably. Bundles of culture, of course."

"How about Paris?"

"_Oh yes! _I love Paris. Which century?"

"Not the eighteenth!" Rose interjected, crossing her arms tightly. The Doctor looked askance at her.

"Why not? That's a good century!"

"Yeah, maybe for you."

Rose's expression became so hostile that the Doctor knew better than to push the matter – clearly something about eighteenth century France bothered her, and through experience he knew that it was wiser not to prod the sleeping dragon in the eye. He coughed slightly before continuing.

"How about… The 21st century?"

"Really? You have all of time and space to choose from and you pick 21st century earth? Are you mad?" Rose questioned, although now without her previous hostility – the corner of her mouth quirked upwards into a reluctant smile. The Doctor echoed her expression, suddenly catching her by the hand and tugging her around the console, twirling her under his arm like a dance before he began to push buttons, twirl knobs and flip the appropriate levers to send them spiralling out of the vortex and towards their chosen destination.

"I'm hurt, Rose," he grinned slyly, holding on for dear life. "I'm surprised you even have to ask. Of course I'm mad. Absolutely stark raving bonkers."

The TARDIS landed with her usual wheezing groan, her inhabitants thrown to the floor and laughing uproariously. The ship, who was now thoroughly enjoying her presence in _both_ of their minds, added her own laugh into the mix in the form of a deep, tingling thrum that sent both the Doctor and Rose shivering in delight. He of course still felt the telepathic connection much more keenly than his companion did, but the fully human woman was now always aware of the comforting presence of their sentient ship.

Rose crawled over to where the Doctor lay sprawled on the grating, his new suit already collecting an impressive layer of dust. An impatient sigh escaped her as she patted him down, clouds of dust flying around them and making her cough loudly before speaking.

"So, outside that door is Paris? Actual Paris?"

"Oh yes!"

"And you won't have accidentally landed us on a planet that's headed into a black hole or anything?"

"What? No! Not after last time."

"Good."

She stood, brushing a layer of goodness knows what from her jeans then offering a hand to the still prostrate part Time Lord. He accepted and allowed her to haul him upright, immediately tossing an arm casually around her shoulders as they travelled towards the door.

"There's no more romantic place on earth than this city," he smiled as TARDIS opened her door for them and they passed through it into the bright day beyond.

The sight that met their eyes was certainly not the one they had expected to see. There was no Eiffel Tower to be seen, and no Arc de Triomphe. Instead, they had stepped out onto a bustling street full of harassed looking shoppers, lined with very British shops indeed – the queue for _Greggs_ was right out of the door.

Her mouth pressed into a hard line of frustration, Rose turned to the Doctor and crossed her arms, her eyebrow raised in irritation. The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, tapping the toe of his trainer on the ground in what was fast becoming a nervous habit.

"_Well_, this might just be a part of Paris that isn't usually shown in the tourist brochures!" he said with faux levity – there was a tremor in his voice he could have very easily hidden as a full Time Lord. As if to dig the hole he was currently in just that little bit deeper, a passer-by chose that precise moment to walk straight into his shoulder, stopping only to shoot a very unkind sentence in his direction.

"Want tae watch where yer goin' ya mad twat?!" he screeched loudly before barrelling onwards and around a corner. Rose sighed loudly and tightened her arms around her body as the chilly air settled more heavily on her. She gritted her teeth.

"Pretty sure this isn't Paris."

"What? That chap might just be on holiday. Hold on while I go and ask someone."

"Doctor, don't –"

As quick as a flash, the Doctor had run forwards to grab a young man in a tracksuit by the shoulders, a friendly smile adorning his face.

"Hello, don't suppose you could remind me where I am, could you?" he grinned, waggling his eyebrows. The young man looked askance at him, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You high mate?" he queried, tugging nervously at the upturned collar of his tracksuit jacket.

"What?"

"I said are ye high? Or huv ye been oan the swally awready? It's only ten in the mornin' pal."

"No, I haven't. I'm just curious as to –"

Suddenly, the confusion in the young man's eyes turned to distrust and a small, malevolent smirk crossed his face.

"Hawd oan. Are ye English?"

"I – what?"

"Are ye English, I said? 'Cause if ye ur I'll huv tae smash yer box in, ye see. That's whit guys like me dae tae English twats that wander aboot Glasgow wae nae clue." He cracked his knuckles threateningly.

The Doctor gulped loudly and Rose could psee the wheels turning in his head. When he opened his mouth to reply, she almost felt a little glad that they had landed in the wrong place. To her glee, his words tumbled out in the most delightful Scottish brogue – he had driven her crazy with that accent back in the old universe, and she'd always harboured a secret fantasy about it. Hearing it again almost made her tingle with excitement.

"I'm only having you on! We're just off the train from – eh – Bathgate. We were out last night and I'm still feelin' a wee bit merry, y'know?"

His accent was softer than that of the tracksuited youth, but was still recognisably Scottish – more rounded on the vowels and far more pleasant on the ear.

"Awright pal ye nearly hud me there, huv a good day," the young man laughed as he clapped the Doctor on the shoulder and turned and swaggered off, the sound piercing and unpleasant. The Doctor turned around to face Rose again, his face pale and worried looking.

"Well, who's to say Glasgow can't be romantic? The cuisine is… interesting. You'll not find a deep fried mars bar anywhere else in the universe. And they have lots of things to see… They have a – crane. And a boat. And… other stuff."

Rose gave a half smile and threaded her arm through his, resting her head lightly on his shoulder.

"I might believe you if you keep talking in that accent," she grinned, dragging him off to explore.

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><p><strong>Your reviews mean so much to me (*wink*). I hope you enjoyed! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Only _they _could find trouble in the city dubbed one of the friendliest in the world. The Doctor, much to his utter delight, had discovered Glasgow had such a thing as a 'Science Centre', and had decided a fun day trip would be to take the subway (known here somewhat strangely as the clockwork orange) to the building shaped like a quartered watermelon and spend the afternoon traipsing around the seemingly endless exhibits.

Rose had huffed and dragged her feet: much as she now enjoyed science and technology, she had rather hoped for a more romantic cruise down the Seine followed by gourmet cuisine for the Doctor's invented birthday. Although he had started out by genuinely admiring the majority of their displays, the Doctor had eventually found something that rattled his cage immensely… And he had not been shy about voicing his annoyance. It seemed that aggressive Glaswegian security guards did not take kindly to thin, bespectacled men telling all of their visitors (including a class of thirty primary school children) that no, humans could not fly earlier in the chain of evolution and nor would they bloody well ever do so, and what idiotic scientist had concocted such a ridiculous and misleading piece of propaganda? However, it was when he had leapt over the rope separating the display from the crowd and started ripping it down with his bare hands that the situation had gotten really ugly.

And then, of course, they were running.

_Always_ bloody running! It was funny, though, tearing along the broad corridor while the rotund guards chased after them, brandishing truncheons and yelling for them to stop. As if they were going to listen to that request? It was just like old times as they flew out of the doors and streaked off to the bridge across the river, their hands clasped tightly together and their footfalls entirely in sync.

At the other side they stopped and collapsed onto a grassy bank, their chests heaving with exertion. They laughed out loud now; Rose collapsing heavily into the Doctor's waiting arms.

"I literally cannot take you _anywhere_!" she panted with her signature grin, slapping him gently on the shoulder. He chuckled quietly.

"As if you'd have me any other way!"

"Maybe a bit more tactful, that'd be nice sometimes."

"You know me, Rose Tyler. Rude. Rude and not ginger."

A thought struck him then, and he pulled away slightly so she could see the magnificent shining grin on his face.

"What're you looking so happy about?"

"I've got enough Donna in me to be classed as an honorary ginger, don't you think? _Finally_! Thank you, earth girl! Doubly rude and almost ginger. Good enough for me!" he laughed, his accent slipping from Glasgow into Cockney for a moment. Rose frowned.

"I'll say you're doubly rude, anyway! But don't use that accent, _I'm_ the feral child from old London town, remember? You stick to your sexy Scottish lilt and we'll all be happy."

The Doctor's grin following her words was, appropriately, wolfish.

"You think the accent's sexy, then?" he smirked, tilting his chin downwards and cocking an eyebrow at her. Even after all this time, Rose blushed to the colour of her name under his heated gaze.

"Well… Yeah. When you used it the first time it took quite a lot to keep my hands off you. Fuelled my fantasies for ages, it did. Think that was the first time you didn't wear a tie, too. First time I'd noticed, anyway. I could see so much of your _neck_ – you were practically naked, s'far as I was concerned."

She groaned quietly in the back of her throat, letting her head loll backwards and her eyes drift closed. The Doctor listened in amusement as she continued, apparently to herself.

"Then when we went to London 2012 and you had that top on again but unbuttoned even further and _uh my God _I was dying to jump you! I nearly died when you were eatin' that marmalade with your fingers. Then you had those glasses on again… Surprised I managed to wait 'til we were back on the TARDIS before doing something about it. It was _so_ frustrating, living with you: I think I went through more packets of batteries in a month than I usually did in six. Your own hand gets bloody boring after a while, even if I did imagine it was yours."

The heat beginning to coil in his stomach and lower was extremely inappropriate for the very public setting, and the Doctor thought hurriedly of the stupidity of string theory and the interdependence of finite particles to calm himself down. Rose let her eyes flutter open, biting her lip.

"Sorry. Got a bit carried away," she managed, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, wishing they were somewhere more private and didn't have to show restraint.

"It's alright," he squeaked, his voice high pitched and tense with repressed arousal. "I like hearing… Well, what I mean to say is…"

Rose laughed and shook her head, planting a frustratingly chaste kiss on his lips.

"It's not a problem now, though. Got you to shag whenever I want!" she grinned, ignoring the way his brows raised at her profanity. He spluttered, raising his voice in indignation.

"You make me sound like some sort of… I dunno, some sort of sex slave!"

A passing cyclist caught wind of his words and swerved, barely avoiding a painful collision with a tree. He carried on with a backwards glare at the couple sprawled on the grass. They ignored his mishap, too absorbed in their conversation to notice.

"Well, who says you're not?" Rose grinned, tracing the long column of his neck with her fingernail.

"I should hope that I mean a bit more to you than that! We're meant to be forever, remember?" His mood once again changed, sliding from mock offence into pensiveness – the wrinkle on his forehead deepened with his frown. Rose knew this look – something was brewing in that mind of his, but she was too content in the moment to distract him.

It was several minutes before he spoke again, and in that time they had moved positions to be more comfortable. His back leaned comfortably against a tree (the one the cyclist had almost felled, incidentally) and Rose settled back between his legs, her head resting in the curve where his neck met his shoulder. The chill air made her nestle ever deeper into his embrace, enjoying the peaceful thud of his heart against her spine.

"We could do it, you know," the Doctor mused, his voice low and rich. "If you wanted. Whatever forever we have. It's obviously not _forever _forever, but… Our forever."

Rose turned her face awkwardly to try and see him. "What are you on about? We're going to spend forever together. _Our _forever, as you put it. We already agreed to that; there's no question."

Against her cheek his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed heavily, his next words slow and weighted.

"On a more… official basis, let's say."

A silence had never been louder. Rose stared at the river before them, her mind whirring in an attempt to compute what she was certain lurked beneath those words. She heard the Doctor lick his lips and felt his pulse quicken, the touch of his hands on hers enough to telepathically convey the feeling of apprehension that had flared within him. This hadn't been premeditated, after all. He, just as she had, assumed that their forever was non-negotiable and that they would continue on as they were until the end of their days. It seemed, however, that his gob had other plans and had uttered a sort of proposal without the permission of his brain.

As a pair they had such a history of skating over the details of their relationship that might prove uncomfortable, and so both teetered on the point of a knife as they took in the meaning of his words. She was worried he would change the subject or bolt, either metaphorically or literally. He was worried she'd be spooked and rebuff him, seeing as she'd always been so independent and free-spirited. Neither of them had ever professed to be the marrying kind, and yet…

Rose bit back a smile, not turning to face him. "I suppose we could, yeah," was all she said, sliding her fingers through the gaps of his and squeezing his hand. His breath caught.

"What?"

"I said I suppose we could. Make it official, like."

"What?"

"Mum would like it."

"_Wh_-?"

She stopped his third repetition by turning in his arms and pressing her lips to his, her kiss blistering. When she pulled away, he grinned impishly, teasing her.

"_What_?"

"I just accepted your proposal. You're supposed to give me a ring or something, I think. Pretty sure that's how it goes."

"To be fair, I didn't really _mean _to propose. It just sort of slipped out."

She tilted her head, passing her tongue over her teeth dangerously. "Is that you saying you don't wanna marry me after all?" To her delight, the Doctor looked stricken.

"Of course not! Rose Tyler, I would _love _to marry you. Didn't know that until now, but why on earth not? I'm human now, so might as well observe the customs. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they-"

She kissed him again, just to shut him up.

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><p>They ended up eating chips in a wonderfully greasy café back in the town centre, not bothering to hide their glee as many umbrella-less people outside got caught in a torrential downpour of rain. He continued to talk in the Scottish accent just to please her, even though it grated on his nerves after a while. When he asked her what galaxy she wanted an engagement ring from, he was most surprised with her reply.<p>

"We'll get one while we're here," she replied simply, her hand darting to the plate to capture the last tiny crispy chip they both coveted.

"But I could get you **literally anything**. Star diamonds from Kalamazoo – they glitter like the constellations, really rare, they are. A stone of ethereal beauty – real name, by the way – from Linux Six. _Anything_."

"And I want a normal, human engagement ring from a normal, human shop. You can choose it, if you want. I just want to get it here, because then I'll always have a part of the place that made you let your gob run on and propose in the first place."

"Very romantic, Rose."

"Yeah, it is."

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><p>The Doctor eventually settled on a ring – white gold with a crystal clear diamond circled by small sapphires. Rose beamed at him when he pointed it out, trying not to let the giddiness she felt show on her face.<p>

"It looks like a star in the sky," she said quietly, clutching her hands to her chest. She'd never been one for fuss and frills and jewels, and since the beginning of her relationship with the Doctor had never envisioned herself marrying. This one exception, however, was one she would be glad to make... Even if the ring did have to stay in the TARDIS most of the time while they ran around alien worlds. He looked down at her and smiled tenderly, surprised that they had settled into the idea so abruptly. Not six months ago this eventuality would have seemed downright impossible. Now, it seemed downright brilliant.

They returned to the TARDIS hand in hand, swathed in new tartan scarves. They had to chase a gang of youths away before they started battering down the door, hollering for the person inside to open up so they could have a cup of coffee. They promised each other they'd return to this city at some point in the future.

They sat side by side on the jumpseat, watching the time rotor as was their custom. Rose's face had fallen when he'd said rings weren't a normal Gallifreyan custom – marriages were normally just a piece of paper, most often arranged for convenience and social or political advancement.

"You mean you didn't love your wife? Back on Gallifrey, I mean?" she questioned shyly – his distant past was still something they didn't discuss. The Doctor shrugged, fiddling absently with a button on his new suit jacket.

"Don't get me wrong, I _liked_ her. She was funny – as Time Lords go, at least. She was from a different house and seemed pretty pleased with the match… What you've got to understand about Gallifrey, though, is that not every Gallifreyan was a Time Lord, and to some that made a big difference." He sighed and leaned back, kicking his long legs up onto the console and crossing his arms before continuing. "The subject of reproduction was a real point of contention for many – the few rebels who married for love were the ones who still reproduced naturally. Sexually, I mean. The rest of the planet did so through looming – most parents chose for their children to be loomed into babies, but a few chose simply to loom fully grown adults. Don't know why, myself. Anyway! I wanted to reproduce naturally: it seemed to me that it would be better, somehow. But she was disgusted with the idea – we were both Time Lords, and Time Lords didn't do that, they loomed because they were above such carnality. It was about keeping the species thriving, not familial love or the desire to be a parent."

The Doctor was quiet for several moments, apparently lost in his memories. Rose didn't interrupt, too astonished that he was actually opening up enough to disclose these facts to her in the first place. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he took a deep breath before filling the room once more with his voice.

"I'd always wanted to be a dad. Not a father like mine who would happily see his child whisked off to the Academy when they were eight – if they were considered good enough, anyway. No, I wouldn't have let them take them, if the war hadn't happened and they'd… They'd managed to _reach _eight. But she won, so we loomed. Two of them. Four and six when the war…"

"I'm sorry," Rose murmured, struggling to swallow the tears that welled in her eyes just hearing his haunted tone. His head turned and he smiled softly down at her, the pain far less evident in his eyes than it had been when they met.

"Don't be. The point in I'm here now, and I have you. I _love _you, and I want to marry you. Properly."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to those who have read, reviewed, followed and favourited up to this point. Please continue to do so and enjoy! x**

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><p>Jackie turned to the window a good ten seconds before the sound she waited for every second of every day even reached her ears, barely noticing when she poked Tony in the eye with a raw carrot stick she was trying to persuade him to eat. He bawled, Pete, his phone call being interrupted, complained and she waved her hand impatiently, upending the plate of vegetables in her hurry to run from the room and out into the front garden. Her maternal instinct was correct; the sound that met her ears at that moment thrilled her to the core. Rose was home!<p>

She skidded to a stop just at the beautiful blue box had finished materialising, only a few feet from where she stood. The Doctor and Rose exited the ship with their fingers woven together, muttering to one another and grinning conspiratorially. Jackie frowned, barrelling forwards and throwing her arms around her only daughter before she had the chance to even take a breath.

"Why didn't you _ring_? I could've got in stuff to make shepherd's pie! Oh, look at you!" she smiled, leaning back and taking in Rose's beaming smile and shining eyes.

"Good to see you, mum," she laughed, kissing the older woman fondly on the cheek. Jackie whipped around without replying and gathered a spluttering Doctor into a bone crushing cuddle, bemoaning loudly how thin he was and how she would most likely have a bruise in the morning.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know no-one has ever gotten a bruise from cuddling me. I'm quite a good hugger, or so they tell me," the man in question replied indignantly, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly into a smile. Jackie smacked him playfully and turned on her heel.

"Come on, get yourselves inside. Pete and Tony will be so glad to see you!"

She hurried off, magnificent in her elation to have her only daughter with her once more.

Rose and the Doctor followed a few paces behind, lowering their voices to barely more than a whisper while they continued their previous conversation.

"Let's not tell them, yeah? Let's wait until they notice!" Rose giggled, waggling her left hand and making the ring there sparkle in the afternoon sunlight.

"She'll probably kill me. Should have asked her permission first, shouldn't I?"

"Well if you'd planned it then you could have."

"She'll kill me for opening my gob and blurting it out, then. It wasn't exactly romantic, was it?"

"It was perfect. Much better than any of the candlelight or champagne crap."

The Doctor snorted. "Oh, yes. I'm sure Jackie Tyler will see it that way!"

The moment they stepped inside their senses were assaulted by a tumult of noise and movement. Tony, his left eye red and streaming, came bolting out of the living room literally screeching in delight, bypassing his older sister completely and leaping like a flying fox into the Doctor's arms. The man grunted under his unexpected weight then hoisted the little boy higher, clutching him to his chest and grinning at the shining face before him.

"Happy to see me then, Tony Tyler?" he laughed, nodding at Pete who was currently pacing the hall having a rather heated conversation on his mobile phone.

"I've missed you, Doctor!" Tony pouted; wrapping his short arms around the man's neck and nuzzling into him in a way that almost made Jackie want to weep for the loveliness of it. Rose, on the other hand, was less than pleased.

"Um, excuse me! Tony, what about me? Don't I get a cuddle?" she complained, marching over and poking the six year old in the leg. He looked round, his already huge smile only widening further – his tongue trapped itself between his teeth just the same way hers did.

"Rosie!" he screeched, turning in the Doctor's arms and leaning awkwardly into his sister's embrace. The Doctor passed him over with a grin, making sure Rose held him securely before letting go: she sagged a little under his weight, realising how much he had grown in the few short weeks they had been away.

"I've missed you, big man," she murmured, inhaling his talcum powder and blackcurrant jelly scent, making sure she committed it to memory; it had suddenly struck her he wouldn't remain this sweet little boy forever.

Across the hall, Pete swore in frustration and disconnected his call. Running his hand across the dusting of gingery hair on his head, he quickly gathered Rose into a cuddle, Tony and all.

"I'm sorry, Rose – there's been a massive cockup at Torchwood and there's a real risk a shedload of national secrets will leak to the media. I need to go in and deal with it: major damage control. We'll have dinner when I get back though, yeah? I'm sorry, Jacks," he added, pressing a fleeting his to his wife's cheek then speeding out of the front door. She watched him go with pursed lips.

"Alright then, guess it's just us. Come to the kitchen and we'll have a cuppa and you can tell me about where you've been since you left."

* * *

><p>Even flexing her hand to the point of snapping a tendon didn't seem to make the ring sparkle enough to get Jackie's attention. Rose gripped her mug so tightly that her knuckles went white, raising it to her lips much more often than she normally would and therefore finishing three cups of tea in record time. The Doctor watched her with amusement, snorting once or twice when a look of sheer frustration crossed her face. They conversed about their adventures as if nothing was new, with Tony gaily sticking pasta shells on paper at the breakfast bar opposite.<p>

"What made you come home anyway? The high flying life getting a bit boring, is it?" Jackie queried, draining her cup and filling it once again from the huge teapot in the middle of the kitchen table. She also refilled Rose's, who crossed her legs under the table to fight back the overwhelming urge to pee that was quickly settling on her.

The Doctor answered, "Oh, not at all, Jackie! Our life never gets boring – you want to try it sometime. Rose just wanted to share our last escapade with you, and we didn't see the point in waiting." His smile was enigmatic as he sipped his beverage, turning his mischievously sparkling eyes on Rose. She grinned in reply, setting her mug down and leading ostentatiously on her left hand: the angle so perfect that her new diamond sparkled in the artificial light.

"Where did you go?" asked Jackie, apparently blithely unaware of the humungous hint being dropped. Her daughter rolled her eyes and the Doctor actually guffawed.

"Glasgow."

"_Glasgow_? What the hell do you wanna go to Glasgow for?!"

"We were meant to go to Paris – it's the Doctor's birthday, see – but it seems his navigation skills are even worse now than they were before," Rose smirked, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

"Your birthday? Bloody hell I didn't know! Happy birthday sweetheart!" Jackie cried, running around the table and throwing her arms around the Doctor and planting a wet kiss on his cheek. For once he accepted her affection without grumbling, instead choosing to thank her quietly as she returned to her seat.

"What did you do in Glasgow, then?"

The Doctor smiled. "_Well_, you know! Got to know the locals, tried the local cuisine, saw the sights…"

"Ran a two minute mile so we didn't get arrested…" Rose added, stretching her arms out in front of her and splaying her fingers wide right under her mother's nose.

"Did a bit of shopping as well, so I see. Nice ring, what did you bring me?" she asked, rising again to prise the PVA glue out of Tony's hands before he glued his lips together.

That was when it hit her. Jacqueline Tyler had never been a woman that was easily surprised – but this realisation slammed into her suddenly with the force of a sixteen wheeler lorry. She straightened up slowly and turned even _more_ slowly, her heavily pencilled eyes wide. It seemed to take a great deal of effort to place one foot in front of the other and take Rose's hand in her own, gazing raptly between the rock on her finger and the beaming smile on her face. She turned to the Doctor, whose own grin was so wide it stood a chance of actually cracking his face.

"You're pregnant!" she gasped, her eyes immediately flying to Rose's annoyingly flat stomach. She searched for the faint curve of the abdomen, knowing how huge she'd been with both her children and that it was likely her daughter wouldn't be any different. The Doctor spluttered, choking on his tea.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rose asked in confusion: that had _not_ been the anticipated response.

"An alien baby – will you be alright? I mean I know he says he's human now but it won't hurt you, will it? 'Cause if it does I'll kill him. But, _oh_! I'm going to be a gran! And me so young!"

"This isn't a shotgun wedding, mum! I'm not pregnant!"

Jackie's face fell momentarily, before springing back to life: her expression was more alive than Rose had ever seen. Her lined face practically shone.

"Plenty of time for that, I suppose. Oh, Rose! I'm so pleased! Congratulations!" she laughed, enveloping her daughter in a tight cuddle. The Doctor surveyed the scene with quiet elation – he'd never expected to marry again, least of all to staunchly independent Rose, but he was thoroughly pleased at the way things had turned out. He was less pleased, however, when Jackie started towards him for his _third _cuddle of the day, her eyes beginning to brim with tears of utter surprise and joy.

While he was swathed in her arms, she wailed, "I can't believe I'm going to have a half alien son-in-law!"

* * *

><p>It was early evening when the Doctor slipped out of the kitchen where Jackie was messing around with roast potatoes: Rose had disappeared a while ago, and any prolonged absence worried him. He found her curled up on a bench in the back garden, her eyes focused on the hazy sunset. Silently, he plonked himself down next to her, recognising that something was wrong and she would talk when she was ready.<p>

Several minutes passed before Rose voiced her thoughts, her voice a little gruff with repressed emotion.

"I don't want a big fancy wedding, y'know."

"Good, neither do I."

"I never have. I never fantasised about it or nothing when I was growing up. I just…"

He waited patiently, tracing nonsensical patterns on her arm with a feather light touch. Rose gulped loudly.

"When we were talking to mum, and she was nattering about bridesmaids and stuff, it made me realise…"

"It made you realise how many people we love will be missing," the Doctor finished for her, the realisation causing a painful constriction around his heart.

"Mickey could have been my chief bridesmaid. Martha too. Sarah Jane."

"Donna. _Oh_, brilliant Donna, my best man. And Jack… He and Wilf as ushers."

"Shareen."

"The Brigadier."

The pair lapsed into silence, both absorbed in their individual sadness. Their wedding would be perfect in its own way of course, but the space left by absent friends would be unbearable. Neither of them felt any guilt about the other Doctor: after seeing him happily regenerated through the final remnants of the telepathic link, any unresolved issues in that department had been put to bed. But these other people… They would forever hang over their heads like a dark cloud.

"I miss them so much," Rose muttered, snuggling as close to the Doctor as was physically possible. She needed to feel that he was here, solid and real, under her hands. He breathed in her scent, digging his fingers into the soft flesh of her waist so desperately he may well leave a bruise.

"I know."

* * *

><p>Over dinner, Jackie made a proposition that shocked everyone. Pete was so surprised he managed to miss his food entirely and chip one of his teeth by biting down on the metal prongs of his fork. She glanced around the table with apparent embarrassment, unsure as to what she'd said that was wrong.<p>

"I only asked if you could take me for a quick spin in that machine of yours," she mumbled, returning to her soggy broccoli with an endearingly downcast expression.

"Where would you want to go?" the Doctor asked, his curiosity winning out over his natural aversion to the idea. Pete shot him a look, which he studiously ignored.

"I dunno… Anywhere."

Rose, warming to the idea, chimed in, "_OH_! We could take you to this beautiful planet called Emeraude. It's in the Arnel galaxy, and everything is made of emerald. They hold these amazing markets in their biggest cities where you can get pretty much anything from anywhere. That's where I got your Bazoolium."

The Doctor frowned. "You have an entire universe of planets at your disposal and you choose to take your mother shopping?! How very human. How very _female_. Well I can tell you right now, Rose Tyler, I am _not _carrying all your bags again!"

"Shut up! It's one of the most peaceful planets we've ever been to. No chance of running into trouble there, is there? And mum loves a bit of shopping, don't you?"

"You know me too well, Rose. That settles it, then! Pete, take the day off work tomorrow, you and Tony are coming with us," Jackie ordered, narrowing her eyes at her son as he tried to stow some sweetcorn under his napkin. Pete shook his head.

"No can do, Jacks. I've got a load of paperwork to fill in after today's shambles. I can take Tony in and he can muck about in my office. If Rose says it's safe, I trust her. They'll look after you. Just make sure you're home in time for tea."

Tony, much to everyone's amusement, seemed to have been listening to the conversation and delivered the words, "Um, hello? T_ime machine_!" in a perfect caricature of the Doctor at his most Chiswick temp-ish. Pete gave him a good natured clip around the ear for his cheek.

Jackie deliberated for a moment, and the Doctor felt an uncomfortable sweat beginning to form on his forehead – what exactly had he just agreed to? His worst nightmare personified, it seemed. Rose seemed happy, however, which made it just bearable. Jackie took a decided bite of overcooked pork.

"Good. Tomorrow we go on an adventure. Me, in space! Can you believe it?"

* * *

><p><strong>Uh-oh.<br>**


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas/totally non-denominational seasons greetings. **

* * *

><p>Rose awoke the next morning with the sensation of a breeze block settled on her chest, inhibiting her ability to breathe. A breeze block with a heartbeat, apparently. Opening one eye, she smirked a little at the sight of the Doctor sprawled out on her chest, his cheek pressed to her collarbone and his hand settled just over her right breast. It seemed they'd fallen asleep in mostly the same position they'd finished their lovemaking in – him so sated he'd collapsed half on top of her and her too tired to move him. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, to wake up like this. Nor was it unpleasant to feel him, hard and insistent, pressed against her thigh.<p>

She half wanted to wake him, knowing how typically male he was: he'd jump at the chance of yet another lazy morning shag… He did every time she offered. The temptation was almost too much to bear as she stroked his upturned cheek with the hand not trapped underneath him, but then he nuzzled in closer to her and looked so peaceful she couldn't stand to shatter the moment.

So often was he babbling, Rose took the rare silence as a chance to reflect on the events of the previous day. Engaged. To the Doctor. The reality of that statement would take a while to fully sink in, she realised. Although she couldn't see it, she could feel the metal of her new ring around her finger, and the tingle of happiness it sent up her spine was foreign. She'd never envisioned this: marriage and babies (not that they'd even _touched _on that subject) was something she'd long resigned herself to never having.

How had she slipped into loving the idea so quickly and thoroughly, she wondered? They belonged together – to each other – no matter what, and had both always assumed they didn't need a flimsy piece of paper to cement the issue… and yet here they were. It was especially perplexing when you considered that this kind of ceremony wasn't even native to the Doctor. But, once again, here they were. Astonishing, really.

If her nineteen year old self could have anticipated her future… Her future in a parallel universe with her real mum and parallel dad and little brother, engaged to the future mostly human version of the grumpy Northern alien she was currently kicking up her heels with. Rose giggled softly to herself – she would probably have had herself committed.

She wondered idly what everyone in the other universe was getting up to. Of course, through second hand telepathy she knew vaguely what their old friends were up to, but she suddenly yearned to know the details of their lives. Had Mickey and Martha become parents? Was Donna living the high life with her new husband and jackpot lottery win? Had lovely old Jack found someone to spend at least part of his endless life with? And the other Doctor, what was he doing? Not in a jealous way, but she had to wonder… Who was travelling with him now, and more to the point, did he remember _her_?

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the Doctor who is here now and has no hope of ever forgetting her awoke, his eyes fluttering open slowly. He grunted, not bothering to move.

"Time is it?" he asked groggily, momentarily forgetting he was still part Time Lord and knew fine well that it was eight thirty two and six seconds on the morning on the nineteenth of April. Rose quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the frankly useless (and only there for the novelty) clock on her bedside table.

"'Bout half eight."

"Five more minutes."

"Up."

"_Ten_ more minutes?"

"We need to get up! Mum will be battering down the door soon for us to take her to Emeraude."

She leaned her head down and kissed his messier than usual hair, fighting back a chuckle at his pantomime-esque groan.

"I forgot. What did I agree to that for? Jackie Tyler in the TARDIS. Again! Just make sure she doesn't touch anything, okay?"

Rose made to slide out from underneath him, but the Doctor leaned up on his forearms and kept her trapped, his grin salacious. She quirked an eyebrow at him, amused.

"Can I get up, please?"

"Not yet. We've got time before she gets here… I don't think I showed you enough last night just how _thrilled_ I am that you're now my fiancée…" he murmured, his voice dropping dangerously low as he dipped his head and nipped the flesh of her earlobe with his teeth – the reaction it garnered was a fairly new discovery for both of them. Rose twisted a little, biting back a moan. Her revenge came in the form of a feather light stroke of her fingernail down his spine, grazing temptingly over the mole between his shoulder blades. The Doctor shuddered and grinned down at her, capturing her lips in a deep and languid kiss. His long, clever fingers had just slipped deliciously between her legs when a loud repeated banging sound began to reverberate down the long corridors of the TARDIS, closely followed by the bellowing voice of Jackie, yelling to be let inside.

The Doctor groaned, teasing her playfully for a moment and making her squirm before pulling away, his expression mutinous.

"It'll be less disturbing for her if you go and let her in. I'll go and get dressed," he muttered, rolling off her onto his side in a way that suggested he had no intention of doing anything of the sort. She rose huffily and struggled into the worn flannel pyjamas they had so hurriedly discarded the previous night before shooting him a playful glance and exiting the room.

* * *

><p>"Bloody hell!" Jackie panted as she stumbled into the console room. "Why can't you two just sleep in the house like normal people?"<p>

Rose quirked an eyebrow and didn't reply as her mother deposited several plastic bags and two flasks of tea just inside the door.

"Morning mum," she muttered, realising in that moment how much of an eventful day this would likely be. Jackie looked her up and down, wrinkling her nose as she strolled to the jumpseat and plonked down heavily, her legs swinging.

"Still in your jimjams, then? Didn't realise I was early," she smirked knowingly. "Where's himself?"

"Still in bed, probably. Said he was going to get dressed but we'll be lucky if he appears before ten – still can't believe how much he sleeps now!"

"Just a typical bloke, then."

"You have no idea. Come on and we'll go to the galley and have a cuppa. All those tannins and free radicals, yeah?" Rose laughed, momentarily lost in fond memories of the first time she'd seen that dazzling grin she'd come to adore. Jackie, nonplussed, grabbed her bags and followed Rose down the winding corridors.

The moment they stepped into the galley, Jackie's face coloured and she bit her lip, looking at Rose in surprise.

"I didn't realise you had a kitchen. That's why I brought the food." She indicated the bags and the flasks as she deposited them on the table, flushing to the roots of her hair in embarrassment at her stupidity.

Rose smiled fondly. "Where did you think we _ate_?"

"I thought you stopped off for chips or whatever you fancied whenever you were hungry. God, you've even got a bleedin' George Foreman grill!" she cried, inspecting the admittedly futuristic gadget with a critical eye. Rose snorted.

"Yeah, we do. We've also got a kettle that boils in ten seconds and a fully functioning cooker, so sit down while I get your tea. Sorry Pete and Tony couldn't come," she added as an afterthought, spooning four sugars into her mother's cup.

"It's alright, Tony's probably too young anyway. I'm glad I got you on your own, actually. I want to know how you're really feeling with this whole engagement thing."

Rose cast a confused glance over her shoulder as she stirred in the milk.

"What d'you mean? I'm over the moon. Aren't you pleased?"

"Of course I'm _pleased_, you plum! I never thought I'd see the day. But that's why I'm worried, sweetheart. Is this really what you want? Marriage and babies an' all that?"

"For a start, we've never talked about kids. Don't know if it'd be practical, us living how we do. But yeah, really – I'm happy." She set one steaming mug in front of her mother then settled into the chair opposite, curling her toes into the cool tiles of the floor. "It was a shock for both of us. We hadn't really talked about it, and then suddenly out pops the question and even he hadn't expected it! But when I thought about it I was like, well, why the Hell not?! I love him, and he loves me, and this is a step we're gonna take together."

Jackie felt the prickle of worry in her chest ease monumentally at the sight of her nigh on glowing daughter, and allowed a relaxed smile to creep onto her face.

"Well, that's settled, then. Congratulations again, sweetheart. But you're gonna have to talk about kids at some point, yeah?"

"Yeah, mum. Whatever you say."

* * *

><p>As predicted, the Doctor strolled blithely into the kitchen at precisely ten o'clock, showered, dressed in his blue suit and with his usual painstakingly styled hair. Rose and Jackie ignored him, absorbed in their conversation about what Jackie could expect on Emeraude. He didn't like not being the centre of attention, and deliberately created a racket whilst brewing himself a cup of tea and slathering butter and an unhealthy amount of strawberry jam on his toast.<p>

"Good morning, ladies of the Tyler family!" he all but bellowed, throwing himself into an empty chair and kicking his feet up on the table; Jackie groaned in annoyance.

"Get those shoes off the table!" she scolded, swatting at his red converse. They remained stubbornly where they were, his long legs crossed at the ankles.

"My ship, my rules," he smirked, poking out his tongue and licking a stray smear of jam from the side of his thumb. Rose visibly twitched, which prompted yet another smirk from the Doctor and a disapproving glare from her mother.

"That's as may be, mister, but I'm your mother in law now so you'll have to listen to me more. Hurry up and finish your toast, I want to go into space! Rose, go and get dressed."

They both meekly obeyed, not even daring to glance at one another as they exited the kitchen.

Jackie wandered around the console, her fingers itching to press some of the buttons or pull one of the strange looking levers. It looked different to the one she'd been in before – these controls looked newer and less like the ship had been built out of spare parts. She reasoned silently that after nearly a thousand years the old one probably _was _built out of spare parts. Not this new TARDIS, though: she was a beauty. Completely identical in every way except for her shiny new controls and slightly less dusty grating. The Doctor stood across from her, glancing up every now and then between programming coordinates. After a few silent minutes where only the gentle hum of the TARDIS could be heard, he spoke.

"How do you fancy flipping the lever that'll make us take off?"

She did indeed fancy it. When Rose had joined them, they stood crowded around the console, watching with bated breath as Jackie's hand shook over the lever. The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, so just pull it down and we'll be catapulted to the year 6127. Think you can handle it?" he smiled, and his gentle tone belied his stern words. Rose took her mother's free hand and the woman tugged the lever downwards, sending the time ship into the vortex.

As was custom they were thrown to the floor, managing to clamber upright long enough to grab onto the console, howling with laughter the entire time. Jackie, through a mouthful of hair, yelled, "Is it always like this or did I do something wrong?"

The Doctor grinned at her, his eyes sparkling and alive. "Never, Jackie Tyler, you were brilliant! There _is_ a button to stabilise the flight, but… _Well_, this is more fun, isn't it?!"

"It'll get smoother when we're out of the vortex," Rose added, laughing harder again at her poor mother's utterly bemused expression.

"I hope there's somewhere I can throw up on this planet," Jackie scowled, her skin turning pale as they were tossed around like ragdolls.

Suddenly, the ship almost stilled. Now out of the time vortex, their journey to Emeraude would be much more pleasant. They all stood and dusted themselves off, and Jackie tottered to the jumpseat and collapsed down whilst the Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose from behind as she studied the monitor carefully. Her full lips pursed, she pointed at an unfamiliar shape looming over the glittering planet. A granite coloured mass faintly reminiscent of the Sycorax vessel took form before them, miles in the distance and yet huge and menacing.

"What's that?" Rose queried. The Doctor reached into his pocket and slid his glasses onto his nose, peering over her shoulder at apparently stationary object.

"It looks like an asteroid, but…"

In that moment, the TARDIS lights flickered ominously before oozing into a dangerous scarlet hue. The Doctor stiffened, the muscle in his jaw tightening as it always did when things became tense. Rose's heart began to pound and she held out her hand for her mother to hold.

It was then that the cloister bell began to toll.


End file.
